Tower of London - Sunday 20th August
We finally made it to the Tower (having previously delayed the outing due to weather and illness) and enjoyed a busy but great day out. We arrived soon after opening time but had to queue for awhile to enter. After giving the kids a walk (Ben in particular was keen to master the cobble pavings) and something to eat, we headed up to the Tower Green. There were no queues into the Crown Jewels House, so we took it in turns to go through the display - the other walking the kids around the courtyards. The display was great, and much better than when I had seen them 10 years ago.
It was by now starting to get a bit busier so we headed to the White Tower and went through as a group. This was the first part of the Tower to be completed. We saw the Doomsday Book and some great displays of armour - including an interesting piece of Henry VIII's! Rachel was keen to complete the tour quickly, but we managed to see most of it.
It was then time for a quick lunch enjoying the sunshine. We took it in turns to "join" a beefeater guided tour for the church, hearing the tales of the executions carried out on the grounds and nearby.
We then walked along the battlements and through the Bloody Tower, where we were able to watch Tower Bridge open for a ship to pass. This was actually something we had down to do, so it was a bonus that we were able to see it from such a vantage point!
By now the afternoon was wearing on, and we were all feeling tired, so we headed to St Katherine's Docks and enjoyed a coffee before a cool change in the wind had us heading for the tube station and home.
